Partition and like building construction



Jan. 5 1926.

1,568,110 F. M. VENZIE y PARTITION AND LIKE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb, 6, 1923 A Troiwvey "proof characteristics.

Patented Jan. 5, 1926.

l UNITED STATES FREDERICK M. VENZIE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PARTITION AND LIKE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

Application led February 6, 1923. Serial No. 617,281.

To` all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK M. VENZTE, a citizen of the United States, residing at thecity of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have inventedl a certain new and useful Improved Partition and like Building Construction, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention,'generally stated, relates to building construction and has more particular relationl to 'a partition, wall and ceiling structure calculated to receive a finishing coat of plaster. f

The leadingfobject of the present inven- .tionmay ybe said to reside in the providing of a structure of the lcharacter stated in which is combined efficiency, cheapness, lightness of kmaterial and sound and fire- A further object resides in the provision of general details of construction and in the arrangement, combination and connection of parts for attaining the results sought by the leading object. A still further object resides in the provision of anovel form of unit of block-like or slab contour possessed of lightness, and fire and sound-proof characteristics adapted for arrangement between and for attachment to metallicy supporting strips. A still further object resides in the provision of a novel form-of clip for attaching said units to said supporting strips. Still another object resides in the provision of anchoring means whereby end units may be supported with respect to a supporting strip in the event that a doorway, window or like opening is required, at which place the usual clip I employ is not desirable. Other and further objects not'at this time more fully explained will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described and finally claimed. 4

The nature, characteristic features and scope of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description 'takcn'in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, and in which:

Fig.4 l, is a fragmentary view of a wall or partition embo ying features of the invention. Y

Fig. 2, is a sectional plan view of the parts shown in Fig. l. ,l

Fig. 3, is a sectionalend view of the parts `shown in Fig. 1.

- Fig. 4, is a face view of one of the slabunits detached. Y

Fig. 5, illustrates one of the clips detached, and

Fig. 6, is a plan view of one ofthe anchors' 'arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited tothe precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentali- 'ies as herein shown and described.

Generally stated the invention consists of a unit or slab construction which may be secured directly to a wooden or other partition or wall to render the same sound and .fire-proof or which may be built up to itself form a wall, partition or ceiling. In the last mentioned construction special and novel clips and anchors are required which also vform partl of the present invention. A description will first be given of the unit construction. Each unit is of rectangular, slab-like contour and is designated l0. One face of a unit l0 is beveled as at l1 along all 'our edges as clearly shownin Fig. 4. The beveled portions are each grooved as at 12 the grooves being in communication to form a continuous channel the purpose of which will presently appear. Each slab is hollow and is formed of refractory material. In practice good results have been obtained by using a mixture composed of plaster, asbestos and burlap. Within each slab is contained fel-t a preferably in compacted or slab form. The walls of the unit l0 are relatively thin in cross-section whilst the felt is of relatively thick cross-section, see Fig. 3. While the formation of unit with felt therein may be accomplished in different ways the arrangement shown in the drawings will serve for illustrative purposes. The unit may be made in two pieces of which one is dished to receive the felt and the other comprised of a lid or cover which may be pressed against the felt and caused to adhere to the unit and felt by means ofk an adhesive as glue. .Such a unit is of very li Uht construction weighing considerably less than tiles and similar building commodities and is sound and lire-proof. One way of utilizing such units is to place saine upon a wooden partition positioned end to end and Secured as by nails with the beveled faces of the units exposed. A coat or coats of suitable material yas'plaster and asbestos is then applied to the exposed unit faces., said material lilling the V-shaped spaces `be tween adjacent units as well as lilling the grooves 12 thereby forming an eticient interlock. Thus a wooden partition may be readily made sound and lire-proof by applying units upon each side thereof.

A. description will now be given of the manner of constructing a partition, wall or ceiling in which the units constitute the entire structure use being made of metallic supporting strips, clips and anchors for maintaining the units in' proper position and for illustrative purposes a description will be given of the manner of erecting a partition as is disclosed in Fig. l. Secured to the licor-13 asby screws or nails are spaced, vertically disposed, inetal supporting strips 14 of a height in accordance with the partition being formed. A unit is of the approximate width of the'space between adjacent strips and said units are positioned therebetween, end to end with the lowermost of the units resting upon floor 13. For the purpose of retaining the units in position between strips 14 use is made of clips such as shown in Fig. 5. These clips are stamped from nietal andieach consist of a body 15 one end of which is slotted as at 16 and the opposite end of which is provided with oppositely disposed wings 17-17 arranged at right angles to the body 15. That end of the body 15 provided with the wings 17-17 has bent out therefrom extended in parallelism with said body a supporting strip engaging member 18 the free end of which is provided with a hook 19. 1n practice after the strips 14 are secured to place a plurality ofl the above described clips are positioned upon said stripsby engaging parts 18-19 of a clip around one face of a strip withthe body part 15 of a clip abutting against the other face of a strip 14. Each clip is interlocked with respect to a strip 14 by means of a plate 2O slotted as at 21, the slotted part 21 being caused to engage with the slot 16 of body 15 with plate 20 paralleling wings 17-17. The combined plate and wings form opposed U-sliaped sockets to accommodate and retain in position the units 10. The units 10 may be tied together at their meeting edges by other clips and locking plates similar in all respects to clips above described except that no strip engaging hooks are required. These additional clips are best seen in Figs. 1 and 3 in which the body part is designated 15, the wings 17 and the locking plate 2Q.

In lthe event that a doorway or other opening is desired ina partition being erected the clips are omitted upon a strip`14 facing such opening, see right hand side of Fig. 1. ln order to maintain units 10 in position adjacent 4 a strip 14 use is made of anchors 22 vsee Fig. 6. Each anchor comprises a thin iiictal band of a length to engage around a strip' 14 and a strip'14 see Fig. 1, the ends of such band being split and bent inwardly iii spaced, parallel, strip engaging prongs 22S- 24 of which prong 24 is hook-shaped as at 25 to engage around the edge of a strip.

he partition is now ready to receive one or more coats of suitable linishing material 2G, 1n practice good 'results are obtained by using a plaster and asbestos mixture.r This linie-hing material may' be of any refractory composition thus adding to the lire-proofing qualities of the work being done. The inaterial 2o enters the `V-shaped spaces between adjacent units as well as the grooves 12 of the units thus providing 'an interlock of parts which is desirable.

1t will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description and while 1 have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is' to be understood that the same is susceptible of iiiodilication in Various particulars Without departing from the spirit or Scope ofthe invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What 1 claim is: f

l. construction of the character stated comprising spaced and fixed supporting strips arranged in parallelism, a plurality of spaced clips detachably engaging said strips each clip forming opposed-U-shaped unit accommodating sockets, a plurality of units comprised of blocks of tire-pooling material of a width approximating the distance' edgewise between the U-shaped portion offadjacent strips littedbetwe'en pairs of strips endv to e'ndv and engaging in said sockets and a tire-proofing surfacing material applied to the opposite faces of said units.

11 construction as described in claim l, characterized by each of said units'having bevelled and grooved marginal, portions upon one 4face thereof adjacent bevelled portions of 'sa-id units forming V-shaped depressions in which depressions and grooves said surfacing material `is received thereby forming an interlock o f parts. Y

8. A construction as described in claim 1, characterized b v vertically disposed clips for tying together abutting upper and 'lower ends ofsaid units. 1 1

4. A construction as described in claim 1, characterized by certain of Said units'be'ing maintained in position by means of anchors connected between a pair of said supporting strip each anchor being comprised of a band the ends of which are shaped to engage around said strips.

5. A construction as described in claim l,

i characterized by said units being of hollow thereof said slab being adapted to be filled with a lire-proofing material of a character ll differing from the slab material 7. In a Construction of the character stated a unit comprised of a hollow slab of plaster, asbestos and burlap said slab having bevelled and grooved marginal portions upon one 20 face thereof said slab being adapted to be filled with felt or equivalent sound proofing material.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

FREDERICK M. VENZIE. 

